A new contest record
698.2860
highest overall ever cooked here
698.2860 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 691.4056 SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA set in 2015.
- old record 691.4056
- set 2015 by SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA
Sun BBQ Fest 2016
Jun 11–12, 2016 · Uncasville, CT
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ won Grand Champion at the Sun BBQ Fest on June 11, 2016 in Uncasville, CT, scoring 698.2860 in a field of 69 teams. MEAT @ SLIMS took Reserve Grand Champion with 687.9656. Category winners: Chicken — SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA (179.4400); Pork Ribs — SMOKIN BULLDOGS (174.2972); Pork — 5-ALARM BBQ (177.1428); Brisket — QUE AND A HALF MEN (177.1772). This is the 3rd of 5 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA; the next was held in 2017.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
283.91
median 649.17
698.29 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 179.44
- Pork Ribs 174.30
- Pork 177.14
- Brisket 177.18
123.36
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
69
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
698.2860
Winning margin
10.3204
GC over RC
Field average
638.62
283.91698.29
median 649.17 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
1.7716 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
668.5828
283.91698.29
10th place overall
Field spread
414.3772
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 39%
beats 61% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
62%
32 of 52 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.74 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,579
avg power rating going in · stronger than 63% of contests
Storylines (8 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 2nd
A statement win
10.3204
points clear of the field
Wider than 89% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.3204 points — a wider margin than 89% of championships in the data.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA and APORKALYPSE NOW tied on 179.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 2–3: BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ and INSANE SWINE BBQ tied on 175.4516 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ and MEAT @ SLIMS tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Pork 2–3 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · 0.0116
A contest record in chicken
179.4400
best chicken ever cooked here
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA turned in 179.4400 in chicken — past the 177.1544 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 177.1544
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA (won 2015).
- SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA · 2015
One of the big ones
69
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 95% of the 5,469 contests in the data
69 teams — bigger than 95% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
The biggest field yet
69
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 42 teams
69 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 42.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2014 | Uncasville, CT | Uncasville, CT 06382 | 32 | 670.9028 | CHRISTMAS CITY BBQ | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA |
| Jun 13, 2015 | Uncasville, CT | Uncasville, CT | 52 | 691.4056 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | STUBBORN BULL BBQ |
| Jun 11, 2016 ← this one | Uncasville, CT | Uncasville, CT | 69 | 698.2860 | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ | MEAT @ SLIMS |
| Jun 3, 2017 | Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun Casino | 73 | 698.2856 | APORKALYPSE NOW | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA |
| Jun 2, 2018 | Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun Casino | 59 | 689.1656 | PADDY MCQ'S | FIRE DOWN BELOW |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 174.2972 | 171.4400 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2972 | 172 | 169.1200 |
| Pork | 177.1428 | 174.8572 | 170.8456 |
| Brisket | 177.1772 | 175.4056 | 171.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
69 entries · top 698.2860 · median 649.1660
Chicken
68 entries · top 179.4400 · median 163.4458
Pork Ribs
69 entries · top 174.2972 · median 162.3088
Pork
69 entries · top 177.1428 · median 161.1428
Brisket
68 entries · top 177.1772 · median 161.3942
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Master Series — Dessert
11 entries · top 172.5716 · median 166.2628